Beginning of the End
by Twisted Illusions
Summary: The boys looked ashamed. They knew James was off but they didn't think anything about it. Sister story to my In-Progress story Tears of an Angel. Please read, review and enjoy! :


**Authors Note- This is kind of a sister story to my story Tears of an Angel. In one of the chapters the boys talked about when James first started showing symptoms of his illness and how they thought nothing of it. This one-shot it depicting that. If you havent read my story Tears of an Angel, go check it out! If you like this one-shot, then you'll love Tears! (And they coincide together, so if you read this you should definitely read tears!)**

**Anyways, please read, review and enjoy! :) xoxo**

"Well, _about two months ago we were playing a show in Boston. James was really off the whole show. He just seemed tired and kind of sluggish. He stumbled after his backflip and fell but Logan helped him up. He finished the show but he didn't end up staying to meet with the fans, he was just too tired, and we were all kind of worried about him. So Kendall told him to go back to the bus and sleep it off. We didn't think it could have been anything. We were all exhausted. It was the last show of the tour so we were all just ready to go home. James had performed really hard the two weeks that lead up to it. It was undoubtedly his best performances ever. So we just figured he was tired from that." Logan and Kendall remembered that performance. Logan looked ashamed. He knew James was off but they didn't think anything serious about it._

-Tears of an Angel

**xxxxx**

The four boys of the band Big Time Rush busied themselves backstage at their concert. It was coming to an end, finally. They were currently in Boston Massachusetts getting ready to perform their last concert for their first tour, ever. They weren't headliners, but they were proud of their accomplishments thus far anyways. Carlos was humming the melody to their song 'Worldwide' while Kendall practiced his dance moves. Logan was bent over tying his shoes while James just sat down on a chair.

James didn't know why but he felt exhausted. He was excited to perform, as always, but today he just didn't feel normal. He felt sluggish and sleepy and he had a bit of a headache. Nothing too serious, but enough to bother him. He let out a long sigh and buried his face into the palms of his hands.

Logan noticed that James was acting a bit strangely all day. He was quiet, very unlike his usual boisterous self. And now instead of singing their songs to himself to practice, he was just...sitting there.

Logan finished tying his shoe laces and walked over to James, situating himself in the chair next to his. Logan placed his hand on James' shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" James peeled his face from his palms and glanced at Logan.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." James ran his hand through his hair and sat up straight in his chair. He shot a smile to Logan to reassure him he was alright but Logan wasn't buying it.

"You sure? You look a little pale, you feeling okay?" His face was worried. James didn't want to think about what he might look like. He felt kinda off all day, maybe he _was_getting sick? He didn't sleep very well last night, he tossed and turned and just couldn't get comfortable so he knew he wasn't very well rested.

"You look tired James, you sleep okay?" Logan noticed the dark circles beneath his tall friends eyes. James smiled again.

"I couldn't really sleep last night. I'm sure that's it though, I'm okay. I promise! No need to worry Logie." James patted his friend on the shoulder and stood up. He stretched his tired limbs and yawned. Logan stood up too. He stared at James looking for any other signs that he may be sick but he didn't see any.

"Well, alright. But if you start feeling sick, let us know, okay?" James just nodded then walked over to where Kendall and Carlos were.

"Hey, lets run through Stuck, okay?" All of the boys nodded and began to run through the song.

James sang strongly, as usual. They all sounded perfect and James seemed to be acting a bit better. Maybe he just needed some time to relax to get his motor running.

About an hour went by and it was finally time for the boys to perform. They heard their name being announced to the crowd followed by wails of excitement from the audience. The boys adjusted their ear pieces and entered onto the stage.

The adrenaline was sky high, they were all excited to be on the stage again. They ran around and jumped up and down and pumped the crowd up. Kendall and the band kicked the show off by beginning their song, Big Time.

"Make it count, play it straight, don't look back don't hesitate!"

"When you go big time!" The boys danced their routine and continued to sing. The show was going beautifully, the crowd was loving it. As the song wore on, however, James noticed his movements were getting slower, he was so tired. How could he have already been so tired? They just started performing!

The song continued, James got continuously more tired and his head began to throb the further it went. He knew his backflip would be coming up shortly. He was just glad he only had to do one per performance.

"If you want it all, lay it on the line. It's the only life you've got, so you gotta live it big time!" James and Logan took their positions. Both boys throttled themselves into the air, twisting and maneuvering into the backflip. Logan landed and stuck it receiving a high-five from Carlos. James landed it but stumbled. His vision blurred and his knees gave out. His body collapsed to the floor. The audience gasped as Logan ran to James' side helping the boy to his feet.

"You okay? What happened?" James shook his head to try and get rid of the dizziness that plagued him. Logan's hand shot to James' forehead to feel for a fever.

"You feel a little warm, I think you're sick, James." James pulled himself out of Logan's reach and waved to the crowd letting them know he was okay. The crowd cheered and the music started back up.

"I'm fine Logan, just tripped! Lets keep going!" All of them shot him a worried look but continued to sing anyways. The rest of the song went unhitched. Nothing bad happened. They worked their way through the show, performing songs such as Famous, Big Night, Boyfriend, Halfway There, City is Ours as well as Stuck. They finished the show performing a new song from their new CD, Music Sounds Better With U.

"Ooh baby it feels like, it feels like, music sounds better with you. Ooh baby, it feels right, it feels right, everythings better with you. Music sounds better with you!"

"Music sounds better with you!" The crowd cheered emitting the loudest screams any of the boys had ever heard. The rest of the show went smoothly, no mis-steps, no word blurbs, no mistakes. Perfectly! The boys bowed and thanked the crowd before exiting the stage.

As soon as James got backstage and out of the view of fans he didn't wait to find a chair, he immediately sat down with his back against the wall. He was so exhausted he honestly didn't think he could manage to stand any longer, he just wanted and needed to sit for a few minutes. He knew he still needed to make rounds and meet fans and sign CD's and t-shirts, he just wanted to catch his breath and calm his heart rate a little bit.

Plus, letting the nausea that suddenly hit him and dizziness pass wasn't such a bad idea either. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on them, taking deep breaths to try and steady his breathing.

Logan, Kendall and Carlos exited the stage and saw James sitting on the floor. They could see he was breathing heavily and he looked like he might have been shaking. Worry immediately clouded their thoughts and they rushed to his side kneeling next to him. Kendalls hand wound it's way up and down the tall brunette's back, rubbing comforting circles into it.

"James, are you okay, dude?" James rolled his head so that he was looking at Kendall. He was too tired to lift his head to look up at him, and even after simply tilting it to, James' vision was so blurred he could hardly focus on his friends face anyways. To Kendall, the look on James' face was enough. He was pale, not his usual red flushed appearance after a long show. He was covered in sweat, which _was_normal, but he just overall looked very sickly. Logan shot his hand to the brunettes brow and found that he had a slight fever.

"You have a bit of a fever James and you clearly aren't feeling well, why don't you go lay down for a bit-"

"No," James interrupted finally sitting up.

"What about the fans, they came to meet all of us, I can't let them down." James went to stand up but the dizziness came back full swing and he began to collapse back to the floor only to be caught by Carlos.

"Woah, easy buddy. Sit down. You're not going anywhere." James leaned against Carlos and Logan grabbed a chair for James. They sat him down slowly in the chair and Kendall handed him a bottled water, which James thirstily chugged a few sips from.

"James, I really think you should go lay down and rest, you really aren't looking so hot. I'm worried." James' eyes were half drooped and he glanced at Kendall again.

"No, Kendall. What about the fans, they came to-"

"The fans would understand, James. Look at you, you can hardly keep your eyes open, you collapsed on stage tonight, dude. You need to rest. You're sick, go sleep, buddy." James went to protest only to be stopped by Carlos.

"James, he's right. That fans would understand if you weren't feeling well, they saw you collapse tonight. I agree, you should sleep." Carlos looped his arms around James and helped him back to his unsteady feet.

"It's night night time for Jamie!" Carlos chirped. James just rolled his eyes and tried to pull away, he wanted to see the fans. They came for all of them, not just part of them. They deserved to meet him too.

"Guys, I really just wanna stay and meet the fans, please, just let me do that." He tried to pull away but Kendall rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Nope, sorry bro. It's not gonna happen, you're going back to the bus now and that is final!"

"Pfft, okay _mom_." James wanted so desperately to meet the fans but he was just so tired. His head began to droop as his eyes started to lose a battle against gravity. He was falling asleep standing up. Kendall noticed James' slumping posture as he started to nod off and frowned.

"Come on, lets get you to the bus, can you stay awake long enough? I'd really rather not carry you, you're kinda big." Kendall joked hoping to get a rise out of his friend only for it to seem like he didn't hear him. James' eyes were completely closed now, Kendall didn't think he could stay awake any longer. _How tired was he?_Kendall finally wrapped his arms around James and picked him up bridal style.

"Come on, lets get you to bed." The boys followed Kendall and James back to the bus. Logan pulled back the covers on James' bunk as Kendall hoisted him up and lowered him onto his cool clean sheets. Logan tucked the blankets around James' sleeping form as Carlos fluffed James' pillows.

They all sat and watched him for a little while to make sure he was alright. They knew they had time while the headliner band performed to watch over him. As some time passed some color started to return to his cheeks and his breathing evened out, becoming much more normal. Logan placed his hand on the brunettes forehead once more. He was still a bit clammy, but his fever seemed to have dissipated. He sighed with relief.

"His fevers gone," He glanced at Kendall and Carlos and smiled.

"He must have just been so exhausted, he's worked so hard these past few weeks and he admitted to me he's been having trouble sleeping. I think it all just caught up to him and knocked him on his butt."

"Should we wake him up so he can meet the fans?" Carlos questioned. Logan shook his head.

"No, he needs to rest. We'll just let him sleep." The boys all nodded in agreement. They watch James for a few moments longer before leaving the tour bus to go meet the fans.

Kendall was right, the fans totally understood that James was sick and needed to rest. A few even wrote little get well soon cards while they waited for the boys to come back from bringing James to sleep. A few of the fans cried from heartbreak for not getting to meet "the face" of Big Time Rush, but they couldn't blame him for needing to rest.

Everyone exclaimed their concerns and wishes for James to feel better.

After somewhere around two hours of signing merchandise and meeting fans the boys returned to the bus where James was still soundly sleeping.

Logan checked his temperature and was relieved that it was still normal. He tucked James' comforter tightly around his slumbering frame and ruffled his friends hair. Kendall and Carlos came to check on their tall brunette band mate as well. They all figured it was best to just let him sleep through the rest of the night, he definitely earned it.

"Good night, James," Began Kendall patting the boys knee.

"Feel better!" Finished Carlos.

They all left the sleeping quarters of the bus leaving James to rest. Sadly, it would be one of his final peaceful nights he'll have for a very long time.

**Ending A/N- I didn't really like this one-shot really, it seemed short and boring. BUT, I wanted to just kind of let those of you who read Tears kinda know what was going through my mind when I added it into the story. So, while I don't love this one-shot, I felt it needed to be written and fulfilled the point I was striving to display :P**

**I hope YOU enjoyed it, at least! haha Anyways, please read, review, and enjoy! Much love! xoxo **


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